Dawson v Dawson

[2018] FCCA 1813

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

DAWSON v DAWSON & ANOR [2018] FCCA 1813

Catchwords:
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – Administrative tribunals – Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) – Procedure and evidence – Procedural fairness – Other matters.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – Administrative tribunals – Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) – Appeals to Federal Court – Questions of law.

FAMILY LAW AND CHILD WELFARE – The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and related legislation – Children – Child support legislation – Judicial review of decisions.

Legislation:

Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) ss.33(1)(c), 43(1), 44(1), 98H(4)
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth), ss.117(2), 117(2)(c)(ia), 117(7A)(b)(i)

Cases cited:
Child Support & Crowley and Anor [2015] FamCAFC 76
Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Pochi (1980) 31 ALR 666
Re Pochi and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1979) 26 ALR 247
Oldfield v Secretary, Department of Primary Industry (1988) 78 ALR 718 Sullivan v Civil Aviation Safety Authority (2014) 226 FCR 555
Sun v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2016) 243 FCR 220
Weinstein v Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria (2008) 21 VR 29

Applicant: MR DAWSON

First Respondent: MS DAWSON

Second Respondent: CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR

File Number: BRG 818 of 2016

Judgment of: Judge Jarrett

Hearing date: 19 April 2017

Date of Last Submission: 19 April 2017

Delivered at: Brisbane

Delivered on: 5 July 2018

REPRESENTATION

Counsel for the Applicant: Mr Greinke

Solicitors for the Applicant: Morgan Conley

Solicitors for the Respondents: Mills Oakley

ORDERS

1. The application filed on 27 July, 2016 is dismissed.

2. The applicant pay the second respondent’s costs of and incidental to the application fixed in the sum of $6,948.00.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Dawson v Dawson & Anor is approved pursuant to s.110X(4)(h) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (Cth).

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT
OF AUSTRALIA
AT BRISBANE

BRG 818 of 2016

MR DAWSON

Applicant

And

MS DAWSON

First Respondent

CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. This is an appeal pursuant to s.44(1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) from a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal given on 27 June, 2016 that concerns child support issues between the applicant and the first respondent. The Tribunal’s decision affirmed a decision of an objections officer to reject an objection made by the applicant to certain determinations made by the second respondent about the applicant’s income for child support purposes.

2. The applicant argues that the appeal should succeed and the decision of the Tribunal set aside because:

   a)the Tribunal relied on material not in evidence before it but apparently obtained by the Tribunal from internet searches conducted by the Tribunal member;

   b)this material was not relevant or probative;

   c)an inference drawn by the Tribunal and critical to its decision was not reasonably open on the evidence before it;

   d)this inference was also contrary to the other findings of the Tribunal; and

   e)the Tribunal was required to exclude the profits of a company called Company A Pty Ltd from its…